iPhone 8 may have lost another groundbreaking feature

The iPhone 8 takes another hit from the Apple rumor mill: trouble with the new fingerprint sensor.

Almost any Apple release is going to be preceded by months, if not years, of rumors and the iPhone 8 is no different. Unfortunately, as of late, Apple analysts are hedging many initial expectations with reports of technology delays. The latest, from Pacific Crest Securities, questions whether fans can expect a groundbreaking in-screen fingerprint sensor.

The new iPhone, or the iPhone 8, the iPhone X or the iPhone Edition, coincides with the tenth anniversary of the first iPhone and expectations for something special are high. The recently leaked design is all glass, featuring an edge-to-edge screen and eliminating the physical home button. To eliminate the home button, however, Apple needs the technology to offer an optical fingerprint sensor as part of the glass screen. This feature, analysts think, would be the defining feature of the anniversary phone. It is also, as others have concluded, very much at risk of not happening.

Pacific Crest Securities, the latest group of Apple analysts to share a letter to investors on the state of the iPhone 8, believe that Apple is running into problems with the fingerprint sensor. Namely, that when they checked with the “fingerprint module provider,” the analysts discovered that Apple has not placed a “firm order for production.”

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As with any hiccup to new design and production, Apple has two options: delay the release of the phone or delay the installation of new technology. If they go the latter route and want to keep the full-phone screen, then they’re looking at a back button like that of Samsung. If they do choose to delay, well, the Pacific Crest analysts at least don’t think this will negatively affect sales.

The latest estimates have the iPhone 8 launching in early September 2017 and going on sale mid-to-late September. While that feels like an eternity when you’re waiting for a new phone, it’s a rather short amount of time for Apple to iron out issues and make key calls. In the meantime, stay tuned. There are only going to be more leaks.